This is a blog dedicated to teaching English and Communication through Literature Alive! in Second Life.

Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Another Month in Review

Even though I take a lot of notes, it seems that I never get over here to write up my ideas. So, I apologie for the length of this post and the scattered nature of it.

My SL has been (literally) exhausting. In trying to balance three personaes (the real me, the educational me in SL and the "working" avatar in SL), I have become overwhelmed. Thus, I have decided to take a few days off for the sake of sanity.

I will try to go in once a day to spend time with a few educators and my special friend. But, I know how to contact all of them out of world, so I may do that, as well, so I don't get sucked into playing too long.

The thing about SL is that is really really is a second life. A full one, no less. So, now that I have multiple properties (an office, a group home, a retreat cottage, and a private residence), I feel like I must go in every day and maintain each property. Also, since I have worked very hard at my SL job, I am now quite popular there and feel compelled to work extra shifts, etc. And, really, the real life of me has limited time to do that.

I have had to sit back and really take in a perspectives POV. SL is addicting, and it is difficult to sort out the ethics of one avatar from the real me. In RL, I am very detail oriented. I am an over-achiever. I have high standards. In SL, I tend to be the same way. But, I can't live both of these lives at that level - it is exhausting. And, since my RL job is the one that pays the bills, I am going to have to limit my playing of SL.

I hae gathered a lot of great information about communication styles, but, sadly, I don't know that I will be able to use much beyond my observation. Since I can not verufy the genders behind the avatar, I can't actually extract any good data. I have noticed some trends in my SL workplace - gossip, competition, outlandish talk to be "above" and "beyond" the next person. I will blog about these later, but even I fall into some of these patterns, and that surprises me. IRL, I am not competitive, and I do not gossip. I also am a bit conservative in terms of what I will discuss in the open. In SL, Iespecially at my "job," I feel that my avatar is very worried about being number one, she hates the new girls that compete against her, and she gets drawn into gossip. The RL me would never stand for such behaviour.

In Sl, my avatar is obsessed with her looks. Again, this is not true of me IRL. I am comfortable with my looks IRL, and I don't get all gussied up. My avatar, though, must look perfect all the time. And I feel that I spend too much time creating her perfect looks.

In SL, my avatar has not been able to be close to anyone. This is much like me IRL. While she has many friends, she can not be close. And, that is just like how I am IRL. There are only 2 people she is personally close with in SL, and one was someone I brought in from RL to play the game. The other is private, and he knows who he is.

I like my bosses very much. I think that the owner has a great vision, and his RL and SL girl (same person) wants him to be successful. They are very busy, though, and I feel bad about contacting them inworld.

So, my SL is a challenge. My most rewarding time is spent working on educational material. Neo, this awesome designer, built these incredible personal laptops for my students. I can't wait to use them!!!!